tts42572

Good news to me...I'm looking at it mainly for the live bonus disc though and not so much for the Armageddonize piece.

 

I wonder if these guys should've done this differently? Why not just put out a Live album with the bonus new track instead of calling it a deluxe edition of Armageddonize? I'd think more people would be willing to buy it as a new, live album release than as a product that is just being marketed as a deluxe version of something they already released just last year.

 

Could've done some new cover art made it a release sorta like H.e.a.t's Live In London.

 

It just kinda feels to me like the live CD is just buried in the small print. I like listening to live stuff so that part appeals to me.

Got this album today...damn fantastic!

 

I know its early but will be shocked if this doesn't wind up as my favorite album of 2016.

 

It's basically some combination of Bleed & Scream and Armageddonize with Ronnie's vocals giving it a little extra grit.

 

Awesome

Cool interview I saw with Erik Martensson talking about Nordic Union as well as plans for Eclipse in the near future. Pretty excited at the news of a deluxe version of Armageddonize coming with a new track and a second bonus disc of a live show from this past summer.

 

http://www.themayfairmallzine.com/

 

Here is the text from it...Sorry for the lengthy post but think it's a pretty good read for Nordic Union and Eclipse info...

 

MM: Hello Erik, how are you doing?

 

EM: I'm fine thanks.

 

MM: It's been nearly a year since we last spoke. Last time we spoke about Eclipse and 'Armageddonize', this time another fantastic album with 'Nordic Union'. This new album is absolutely superb. Tell us how you and Ronnie came to work together.

 

EM: Well the whole thing started from Frontiers who put us together and suggested that we could maybe do something together. They had been talking to Ronnie to see if he would be interested in doing some kind of solo thing or a project. The great thing with Ronnie is he hasn't done anything like this before. A lot of singers in this genre sing on everyone's album, whether it's good or bad, they just sing for the money, but Ronnie is working constantly with Pretty Maids and he's stayed away from all of this stuff. So when Frontiers asked me if I was interested in working with Ronnie, I went nuts, because Ronnie is one of my favourite singers and Pretty Maids, as a band, has made a huge impact on my main band Eclipse. So I said ... "Yeh, I have to do it!". After I'd spoke to Ronnie I did two songs, 'When Death Is Calling' and 'The Hypocrisy', and I sent them to him, so he would know what I was thinking the project could sound like. He really liked it, so we took it from there.

 

MM: Did you write the songs particularly to suit Ronnie's vocal style, with a heavier sort of vibe?

 

EM: Yes, all of the songs have been written around Ronnie's vocals. He has a softer voice and also a tougher one. He's not a typical melodic, hard rock voice. He's not as smooth and he has a rougher edge, which I think brings something extra to the songs. It's not a voice that you are already familiar with hearing with this type of song. I think he did a fantastic job.

 

MM: When did you first realise that it was actually going to work?

 

EM: When I got the first track back, I think it was 'When Death Is Calling'. Some people when they get older, they don't work as hard as they did when they were 25. But Ronnie always gives his all and he is such a hard worker. He did everything on every song to try and make it as good as possible. I have to admire him for that.

 

MM: I think the album is something a little bit different for both of you. I know the Eclipse material can have that little bit heavier edge to it at times and Ronnie's Pretty Maid's songs are sometimes similar to that, but the pairing on this album seems to have worked out really well.

 

EM: Yes, absolutely, I think it is the perfect combination to be honest.

 

MM: Was Magnus (Ulfstedt) the obvious choice for drummer?

 

EM: Yes. When I heard him for the first time playing drums, I could not believe how good he was. It's like the old saying, why cross the river to get water. He is a great drummer, so I just gave him a call because I knew he would give 100%. There was no second choices in my mind.

 

MM: There has been much said in certain circles about this type of project being put together, but you seem to have had great success with it. What would you say to the critics out there who say these aren't proper bands and that they are just put together projects.

 

EM: Well I can understand the criticism of the projects and although I would not say I am a huge critic of them, some of the studio projects sound kind of forced and maybe they are made just to release something. My biggest criticism of them is generally there are too many song writers involved in them. There are too many people performing on them and there's no thinking about the big picture of the album.

 

That is why I think I differ from that, perhaps not all of that, but most of that. When I do stuff like this I really give it 100% and I try to write the best songs I can. I have a plan and I want the album to have a big identity. With Nordic Union I had a plan of how I wanted it to sound and I think I stuck with that plan. That was the same thing that we did with W.E.T.

 

That's the thing when there are too many writers involved, when you pick songs from all over the world it become a mess. It's like when you are cooking food, if you just take all your favourite ingredients and put them in an oven, it won't be a good dish. You have to think before you start cooking.

 

MM: Yes, a lot of these projects feature a song from this one and then a song from that one, then the next song has someone else, and sometimes that can make it sound a little disjointed. When there is just the one song writer, then you know what you are writing and how you want the album to sound. It's your vision as opposed to a lot of different people's vision.

 

EM: It makes it more like a band instead of a project, even if it is just a project, at least someone has been thinking about it before they do it. But that being said, I do think there have also been a lot of great projects coming out of Frontiers and other different labels, and there is so much different music happening because of them. But people love to complain as well. (laughs)

 

MM: Serafino seems to have a Midas touch when it comes to putting bands and projects together, he knows what will work when putting different artists together and he knows the scene and what the artists are capable of.

 

EM: Yes, it's great thinking of his matching the artists from different bands together. The label has done very well, they have gone from a small label to a really successful label. They are hard rock and melodic rock fans from the beginning and they do this because they love the music.

Of course there is a business involved as well, especially now that they have grown so big now, but they still do it because they love it. All the guys at Frontiers are fans of the music first and foremost, and I think that is the key to their success.

 

MM: They were fans before they were businessmen and their love of the music had shone through.

 

EM: The reason I do music is because I love doing music. When I first picked up guitar and starting singing and writing, the last thing I ever thought was that one day I would be able to make a living from it, or be able to make any money from it. It comes from the heart, this is what I want to do. It is important that you always stay focused on why you are doing this.

 

MM: Magnus Henriksson guests on the song 'The War Has Begun', was that a similar thing where you just gave him a call and asked whether he'd like to do a solo on the album?

 

EM: We actually wrote that songs together, so it was a natural thing to see if he wanted to do the solo. I did most of the writing on this album myself. Ronnie did a couple of lyrics and I co-wrote a couple of songs with others, but 90% of the stuff you hear on the album is my ideas, my words and my melodies.

 

I wanted to bring in some extra people, especially with the solos, because even if I can do the solos, I get tired of hearing myself all of the time. (laughs). So sometimes I think it is useful to have some extra input.

 

MM: If we can talk a little about Eclipse for a moment. 'Armageddonize' was one of my Top 10 albums of last year. Your show as HRH in Wales last year was also one of my top gigs as well. That was a really great show. What are the plans for Eclipse at the moment?

 

EM: There's actually a lot going on with Eclipse at the moment. We're going to release a new single and we're going to actually participate in the Eurovision Song Contest, in the Swedish contest. On the 27th February we're going to be on Swedish television. We're going to be giving them 3 minutes of Hard Rock at prime time on Swedish television. It's a big thing for us. You rarely hear that! (laughs).

We're also going to re-release 'Armageddonize' as a deluxe edition. It will include the new single and we're also going to put in an extra CD with a full live concert from this Summer. It was recorded at the Vasby Rock Festival. It's 11 tracks long, the whole concert from beginning to end, and there's also going to be some bonus tracks that have been released on some smaller, limited editions. It's going to be a great package with new music on it.

 

MM: Are you looking to tour with Eclipse this year?

 

EM: It's going to be a lot of festivals and also a lot of touring as well, especially in Scandinavia. Then we are going to release a brand new album in exactly a year's time at the beginning of 2017. We've already started working on the songs for that album, as we have to work hard to make it better than 'Armageddonize'.

 

MM: Well as I said earlier, 'Armageddonize' just blew me away from start to finish.

 

EM: Well the next album will be even better! (laughs) Well we will do our best. We never thought we could do a better album than 'Bleed And Scream', but people seemed to like 'Armageddonize' even more, so we will just have to work harder. The day you start releasing bad albums is the day it's time to quit.

 

MM: Back to Nordic Union, as well as the two Magnus's we also saw Thomas Larsson and Fredrik Folkare do solos on the album. Was that the same again, just giving them a call and asking if they'd like to get involved?

 

EM: Well Fredrik is also a good friend of mine. He's playing guitar regularly in a death metal act called Unleashed. They are a pretty big death metal act and one of those acts that kind of started the whole Swedish death metal scene that went famous all over the world. He is a great guitar player and he he loves everything, he's not just into death metal.

 

Thomas, he played with Glenn Hughes in the 90's. I kind of discovered him when I was a kid. He played on an album called 'From Now On' with Glenn Hughes and he also played on a live Japanese concert album called 'Burning Japan Live' I think it was. He is a really well kept Swedish secret, but he is a fantastic guitar player and he's been a huge influence on the way I, Magnus and also Fredrik all play guitar.

 

MM: The whole Scandinavian scene in Hard Rock and Melodic Rock has really taken off in a big way in the last 5 or 6 years. They seem to have embraced the scene which at the time was actually dying away in a lot of countries, Britain included, whereas Scandinavian bands have actually embraced it. It's great to hear and you are actually keeping the scene alive. Stockholm has become the new Sunset Strip.

 

EM: Yes, great bands are coming out of it and from that they breed more great bands. When we release an album, or when HEAT are about to release an album, they want to have an album that sounds better than our album, and we want to sound better than their last album.

It's like a snowball effect, as we're all influencing each other in a very good and very positive way. There's a very positive vibe going on in Sweden between the bands and the music. I think it's fantastic as there's never been so much fantastic music coming out of Sweden before now, especially in Hard Rock. In the 80's there were a few of them, but nowadays there are a lot of great Rock bands. It's not just Melodic Rock, it's everything from Pop to Rock to Death Metal. It's like a fungus, it's growing everywhere! (laughs).

 

MM: I think the music education in Sweden perhaps plays a big part in encouraging people to take up music more so than in other countries.

 

EM: Yes it was definitely like that in the 70's and 80's, and even early 90's, but it's kind of disappeared a bit now. In the school where my kids went before, there was almost no music education at all. Now in their new school everyone is learning it. Every student in a class will learn to play the violin one year, then the next year they're all be learning to play guitar. Just to try it out and to have a good time with it. So I think that will influence them for the rest of their lives, knowing that there are actual real instruments and kind of knowing how they work.

 

MM: Back to Nordic Union, has there been any talk of perhaps doing a second album?

 

EM: No not really. It's only just been finished so we haven't even discussed live shows or anything yet. First of all we didn't know whether people would like it at all, or whether they would hate it, but the reviews of it have been great so far and people are saying some really nice things about it.

Let's hope people will like it and buy it, then if there's enough interest in it then who knows if people want to hear us live then yes, we will start talking about it.

 

MM: Well it would be a great coup to do a W.E.T. , Eclipse and Nordic Union tour, a three headline tour.

 

EM: Go on tour for a month and do three shows a night you mean! (laughs)

 

MM: You've been touted as being one of the best singer / song-writers to come out of Sweden in the last few years, how do you feel about that compliment?

 

EM: I have a hard time believing it as I'm still just a kid trying to do good songs and the biggest critic of all is myself. When people say good stuff to me it's like water on a goose, it just falls off and doesn't stick. So I don't have a big head going around thinking I am a great song-writer, I just try to do my best all the time and that goes for everything that I do in music.

 

MM: You've been involved with some of my favourite albums over the last couple of years and every time I see your name appearing on an album, I know the quality is going to be there and that it's going to be something special. Do you set yourself a standard when writing a song and if it doesn't match up to that do you reject it as you know you can do better?

 

EM: Of course! You know I throw away a lot of stuff. I always want a song to be exciting and a song that I myself would enjoy. If it's not something I would enjoy then I know that it's a shit song and I either have to throw it away or start re-writing it.

 

Every single part of a song, the riff should be good, the verse should be good, the bridge, the chorus, everything has to have a meaning. It can't be a one and a half minute wait to get to a great chorus, it has to be good all the way.

 

I always try to push myself and I can go absolutely nuts writing songs. If it's not good or if an albums not turning out to be as good as I think it should be, then it drives me insane and I have to start all over again. I have to re-do it all until it is something that sounds good and something that I can say ... I like it now.

 

MM: The phrase "all killer, no filler" comes to mind with this album. There were no fillers on the 'Armageddonize' album and there are no fillers on this 'Nordic Union' album. From start to finish, it's all of the highest quality.

 

EM: Well the time that I could surprise someone with a high quality production is now over, and so now I have to keep that quality up as that is what people have come to expect. It's one thing to impress people the first time, but if you want to keep making that kind of impact on people, then you have to keep pushing yourself even harder.

 

I am going to keep trying to bring the quality with every record and it's like being a carpenter, the more kitchens or other things that you do, the more you learn how to do it perfectly. You don't do the mistakes that you perhaps did in the beginning. I try to learn from every product and from everyone that I work with. Even if I mix other people's records then I learn small tricks and I think ... ah!, I can do it like this ... then I can bring that with me in the next production.

 

MM: Do you have any other projects that you have lined up for the next 12 or 18 months that we should look out for?

 

EM: I am currently putting together the new record with the singer from Wig Wam, the new Ammunition album. We've actually wrote a couple of songs already, which we did earlier this week, and we continue with that next week. The singer is coming over next week so we can continue with the writing. So that is in the pipeline and that is going to be released next year.

 

Then we have this Eurovision thing with Eclipse coming up, so that's going to generate quite a lot of media interest and gigs in Scandinavia. We're also going to go tour in Japan and Australia. We're going to go to America and we're going to open up for The Scorpions this Summer for a couple of gigs as well. So that'll be cool.

 

We've also got the Sweden Rocks festival and the Heat festival in Germany, there's also some other festivals coming up, so it's looking to be a very busy year ahead for us.

 

I Also have a number of projects that I will be working on as producer, so I will have a lot of input on those as well.

 

MM: In the 80's records tended to be really polished, but you have an edge to your production work that works really well.

 

EM: Yes I try to keep it in your face and I want it to sound exciting. It's so easy to make a record that sounds boring, they can sometimes sound like the mix engineer is tired and like he just wants to go home and watch TV. I think it has to be exciting all the time and that's where I have been influenced by mixing engineers, I go to people that make me feel something when I hear the album, sonically.

 

MM: Well thank you for taking the time out to talk to us again and best of luck with the new album and with everything else you have going on.

 

EM: Thank you very much, it's been a pleasure talking to you.

 

Interview by: Barry McMinn

Saw a post today on their Facebook page that a full length album is in the works and hoping to have it out later this year.

 

Will be keeping an eye on this...

I guess this tells us some about the album...Probably a little ways away still.

 

I really dig Collide and Turning The Pages.....The tunes have a little more "edge" to them than some of the song samples in the first post in this thread which I personally quite like.

 

Definitely some potential here and like what I've heard. hope these guys can get a full album together of similar quality/style as the 2 singles.

 

Hey guys! This is Erik from Wildness, and I just found this thread bout us. Thanks a lot for all the nice words it really means a lot!

About the album/EP/whatever that has been promised over and over: We're an independent band with no label backing us up or anything. We're doing everything by ourselves and our music is produced and mixed by me. We also have regular lives and jobs like most people, and it's pretty hard to get the time to get everyone to the studio to finish the songs. There will be a full album, we just don't know when.

But one thing is clear - our next single "Turning the pages" is almost complete, we have some minor details like guitar solos and stuff left. We're also not 100% finished when it comes to the production and parts have been re-written during the recording process. We feel that we want everyone in the band to contribute to the songs and make the best of them, we don't want to release anything that we feel is half decent

Keep your eyes open at our Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/wildnessofficial/), the next single is hopefully done and ready for release in a couple of weeks.
Until then, here's a clip from the old drum recording of it:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZScYilFEWXo

I just saw this and gave it listen...gotta say it's pretty interesting....And I won't compare it to H.e.a.t

 

Really though....This has caught my eye. I like this Turning The Pages song...If I hear a couple more things from them I like it might be a purchase once a CD is out...

 

Anybody know much about them? Is there a full CD coming?

LOL...

 

I wasn't purposely trying to compare Nordic Union to H.e.a.t....I know they're two different styles. All I was trying to point out is that the new song title isn't really all that original since H.e.a.t just had a song by that title...I know titles get used over and over sometimes though and the songs themselves are completely different.

 

Yeah...I kinda do compare a lot to H.e.at though. I mean, for me they are probably my measuring stick as they're far and away my favorite band going at the moment and their last 2 albums especially match my tastes pretty perfectly. They sorta cover the whole spectrum of styles I like.

 

Not to take anything away from Nordic Union though...keep going back to the samples and tracks that have been posted and really growing on me....it's highly crankable

 

I'll try to tone down the H.e.a.t comparisons....until at least the next H.e.a.t album comes out

 

 

 

 

 

You cant compare everything to HEAT cos whilst i love the band my god the last album had its weak moments.

Haha. Yeah. As much as I love Tits 42's passion, he does seem to compare everything to H.e.a.t.

 

Another new song posted...sounding pretty good although it's probably my least favorite of the ones I've heard. Plus, H.e.a.t just used the same exact song title and I like H.e.a.t's Point of No Return much more...

 

It rocks though....not bad by any means.

 

Sample of Go sounds really good...Also liking Falling...

 

As I said above, I was trying hard not to get taken in by another project like this but not sure I'm going to be able to avoid it...

 

I'm finding myself wanting to go back and listen to these songs....And they'll sound even better on CD....

 

Project be damned I might have to just get this anyways.

 

Ha, when I've listened to my beloved "Go" from youtube I tagged Martensson with the link and after some very short time the account associated with it was down!

Been spending some time checking this out as somebody that's a big H.e.a.t fan and recently started getting into Eclipse....Although, never have gotten into Pretty Maids so need to warm up to the singer a bit. I kinda wish Martensson took the lead vocals on a couple songs on this...

 

Musically/sonically, it sounds pretty fantastic though and is right in my wheelhouse of taste. However, the songs/lyrics themselves aren't really grabbing me much. I think the themes in a few of the songs are a little dark or something.

 

I think part of the problem too is that I just have a personal aversion to projects like this. I guess I just like investing in bands/artists that are really invested themselves and in what they're doing. I like knowing bands will be playing concerts, touring, promoting, updating on social media, etc, etc. If the project is really good though (W.e.t) I can still buy into it. I just proceed with caution and it really has to grab me. I know it's probably dumb...it's just a personal pet peeve.

 

Will be checking out reviews and songs on this though and seeing if it sticks enough for me to buy it.

Came back to this thread as I've had plenty of time now to check out Armageddonize, Bleed & Scream and Are You Ready To Rock...

 

I have to say I rank the albums with Armageddonize first. I really love the album and it nails my tastes perfectly. I think it's basically the perfect blend of the best elements from Ready to Rock and Bleed & Scream. If I had to rate it I think I'd be giving it darn near a perfect score as I really can't say anything bad about it at all. There is really only one track I don't care much for (All Died Young) but the rest is melodic rock perfection to my ears.

 

As for Bleed & Scream...It's good but I don't feel nearly as strong about it. There are basically about 5 songs I really, really like (Wake Me Up, Bleed & Scream, Ain't Dead Yet, SOS and About To Break) and then I could take or leave the rest of it. The songs all sound great...I think it's just the subject matter or lyrics that just don't do much for me...Kinda hard to explain....I don't know if it's the melodies or what. Basically, I think I was just spoiled a bit since Armageddonize was the first time I've ever listened to Eclipse so I'm comparing everything to that. Anyways, if I were putting a rating on it I'd say probably around 87...It's still good stuff but doesn't knock my socks off the way Armageddonize does.

 

As for Are You Ready To Rock, not really getting into that one all that much. Again, probably spoiled because it was the third album I listened to after the two above...something tells me I would've liked it much more had I heard it back in 2008. It's not terrible by any means but really only a few songs I really like on it (Unbreakable, Million Miles Away, Breaking My Heart Again). I'm not even sure it's fair to try assigning a number rating to it...Probably 75-80 if I had to. I really do think it's spoiled for me because of how good some of the newer stuff from them is and it's overshadowing the older stuff.

 

Honestly though, I've basically burned one disc with the Armageddoinze tracks and my favorite tracks from the other 2 albums....What a glorious album I've made...I'd rate it about 125

 

Plenty of good stuff on these albums though and appreciate all the comments.....Eclipse is clearly on my radar now Looking forward to see what they come out with next.

I recently revisited this album after initially not being interested in it. Basically, was just looking for something new to listen to and decided to give it another chance.

 

I've gotta say it's grown on me. I do think it's a few tracks too long and the songs do start to sound "Samey" by the end of it....I could easily pick 2-3 songs to leave out.

 

But on the flip side, there is quite a bit about it I like. And overall, it's kinda different than most of the other stuff in my library with it's modern flare.

 

I quite dig Face The Fact, Better Safe Than Sorry, Forgive You, Touch of Paradise and Turn Around, Don't Back Down. And there's a couple other songs that are decent enough.

 

I recently bought Armageddonize from Eclipse as well so have sorta been comparing the two. I'd put the Eclipse album ahead of this as that album is perfectly aligned with my tastes...Loving that album.

 

The Degreed album is solid though.

Bummer...

 

However, I'd be willing to bet that as long as Slash and Axl are there, most casual fans won't care and tickets will sell like hotcakes.

 

Now I hear no Matt Sorum or Steven Adler.

Looking for that version and not finding it anywhere...at least in CD version. Only seeing MP3's...

 

Looks like AOR heaven is out of it.

 

The remastered/remixed Are You Ready To Rock MMXIV is far superior.

Had the day off today so decided to stream both Bleed & Scream and Are You Ready to Rock while doing some housework....

 

Gotta say that initial impressions are that I'm digging Are You Ready To Rock. I heard 3-4 songs that really sounded interesting and overall just like the sound of it....Tiny bit lighter melodic rock that still is harder...Kinda hard to describe....Sorta long the lines of Address The Nation from H.e.a.t IMO.

 

Bleed & Scream doesn't sound bad but the only songs really standing out for me are Bleed & Scream, SOS and About to Break. I don't think the "heaviness "bothers me but the lyrical content is pretty dark and almost political....Just gives the album a slightly different vibe.

 

Will have to see if I can find Are You Ready to Rock slightly cheap somewhere.

 

Are you ready to rock? is the only one I really, really like. Definitely check that out next.

Good stuff guys...I wasn't even aware they had so many albums.

 

I think the thing to do is probably to work backwards. I'll spend a little time with Bleed & Scream and see if some of it grabs me. I do like the title track and About To Break is pretty good...Not sure if there is enough to get me to buy it though.

 

Maybe I'll just wait for a greatest hits or a live album to capture the best of their back catalog

Just finally got around to giving Eclipse a shot and bought the Armageddonize album recently....and really enjoying the album. It's just great melodic rock with great production on the slightly harder side without being too metal....Just what I like. It's easily one of the best albums I've heard this year and I feel a bit bad that I haven't gave it a shot earlier. I've just gotten a bit picky these days.

 

I'd say my favorite tracks are Stand On Your Feet, The Storm, Wide Open, Breakdown, Living Like I'm Dying and Caught Up In The Rush. My least favorite tracks are probably the heavier ones like Blood Enemies and All Died Young.

 

Anyways, thinking about investigating the first two releases from Eclipse and just wondering how people might compare them to Armageddonize. It seems like I had listened to a few tracks from Bleed & Scream when it came out and never really heard enough to buy it....But I might also have a new perspective now that I've warmed to them a bit. I know it was pretty well reviewed by most. I don't remember ever reading much about their first album.

 

Looking for some thoughts on which album to look at out of those 2 based on the songs I liked from Armageddonize and/or maybe what people think are the best songs to zone in on for those releases when sampling them.

 

 

Sampled about half of this album last night....It's interesting.

 

I did really like the first 2 songs Need You To Understand and 3000 Beats...But then my attention sorta wavered. Not sure I've heard enough that I like yet to get me to buy the album but I'll probably mess around with it again. Sometimes it takes some time for stuff to sink in and at the moment, I'm not really looking for anything new.

 

It really reminds me quite a bit of the Rock Your World album from Sunstrike in it's approach and sound.

4 Discs in my car at the moment..

 

Def Leppard - S/T

Station - S/T

Eclipse-Armageddonize

Degreed-Dead But Not Forgotten

 

Just picked up Eclipse and Degreed as I needed something new to listen to and had skipped over those releases...I'm having a little battle between those two to see which one I like better. It's close at the moment but think Degreed has a tiny edge. I really like the commercial/modern vibe mixed with keys and classic melodic elements. Eclipse is solid too though...might just depend on which mood I'm in.

I went ahead and got both Degreed and Eclipse and just stopped trying to decide between the two. I listened to both and liked enough on each of them to just go ahead and buy them.

 

Not sure why I let those pass me by but I guess I was just busy with other stuff when they came out and didn't really give them much chance. The first few months of 2016 are looking bleak for releases to me so should have plenty of time to spend with these over the next month or two.

 

Both seem like they'll be pretty high quality releases and both seem to be pretty well reviewed.

 

That DEGREED is awesome!!!

To the original poster...Ever looked into the band Work of Art?

 

Think their Framework album was pretty highly thought of in AOR circles.

I'm giving it a shot

 

It never really clicked with me back when it came out. I've never listened to these guys before....Think I tried a song or two and just sorta dismissed it.

 

Having spent some time with it tonight, it's intrigued me. The production seems immense and it seems like it'll be interesting to listen to. I was debating this or Eclipse and think there is more to sink my teeth into on Degreed. I don't really own much in their modern melodic rock style so might be a little variety for my library.

 

That DEGREED is awesome!!!

Started another thread forgetting that this one was out there...Thought i'd bump this one.

 

I'm expecting to have some gift certificates to use after Christmas so I'm revisiting these to see what I missed and need to pick up.

 

I'm a H.e.a.t, Def Leppard fan...basically melodic rock with lots of production...Like the slightly heavier side than lighter side though.

 

Scanning back through everything I think i'm between 3 releases I never bought....Degreed, Eclipse or Art Nation.

 

Listened to most of Eclispe today...Probably about 3-4 songs I like...Stand on Your Feet, Storm, Breakdown and Caught Up In The Rush....not sure if that's enough to get me to buy it or if i'm better off just buying those tracks.

 

Have listened to about half of Degreed on you tube....Interesting....Seems to be more to digest. Better Safe Than Sorry is awesome...Touch of Paradise sounds good, Face The Fact...

 

Art Nation is one I never heard of until about 15 minutes ago. I sampled a few of their songs...not bad at all. However, they remind me a lot of Sunstrike and I already own that...Almost seem to be a clone of Sunstrike.

 

Kinda leaning toward Degreed as it's a little bit different than most of my library.

No...never heard of Art Nation....might have to check that out.

 

I just have been going back through the 205 thread link that Peter posted above...lots of good discussion there.

 

Eclipse is a band I keep trying to get into but something just hasn't clicked. By all accounts, I should like them as their music has all the elements I like...

 

I'm basically between Degreed or Eclipse for something on the heavier side and maybe Find Me or Care of Night on the slightly lighter side.

 

 

 

 

Eclipse and Find Me are 2 I've had my eye on. Which do you think is better for somebody like me that is a H.e.a.t fan?

Or does something else fit better?

My top ten NOT in order

Eclipse
Art Nation
Find Me
Khymera
Trixter
Maxx Explosion
Ammunition
House Of Lords
Revolution Saints
Station

 

That's tough, Eclipse is a little harder than H.E.A.T but still very melodic. I'd say go with Eclipse. Do you know/have Art Nation?

 

Eclipse and Find Me are 2 I've had my eye on. Which do you think is better for somebody like me that is a H.e.a.t fan?

 

Or does something else fit better?

 

My top ten NOT in order

 

Eclipse

Art Nation

Find Me

Khymera

Trixter

Maxx Explosion

Ammunition

House Of Lords

Revolution Saints

Station